Scareware

Scareware: Scareware is software that tricks people into downloading or purchasing it, under the guise of fixing their computer, when in reality the faux anti-virus program is the real problem. Scareware programs often run a fictitious or careless system scan, and then present the user with a list of malicious programs that must be corrected, always leaving itself off of the list. The scareware then informs that in order to fix these "problems" it will require the user to pay a fee for a "full" or "registered" version of the software. Examples of scareware include: System Security, Anti-Virus 2010, and Registry Cleaner XP.